| Sumario: | The paper examines proverbs used as cultural semiotics in Soyinka's Death and the King's Horseman (DKH) by adopting Sander Pierce's (1931) concept of semiotic, Bach and Harnish's (1979) "Mutual Contextual Beliefs" and Crystal's (1987) context as our theoretical framework. This research is significant because it will fill the existing vacuum in both semiotic and linguistic studies. Our findings revealed that proverbs in DKH contain both verbal and non-verbal cues. These signals are sent either by Elesin to Iyaloja and Olohun-Iyo, or by Olohun-Iyo and Iyaloja to Elesin. It was also discovered that proverbs in DKH have the indexical signs of warning, eulogizing and condemning Elesin. They equally have the indexical signs of showing Elesin hubris and also reminding him of his role. Besides, proverbs in DKH have the indexical sign of boasting. The paper concludes that without understanding the symbols, icons and indices used in the text of proverbs in "DKH", audience will not grasp the significations of the play.
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